Communal Cinema within the Rings of Splendor

This walk-in-sculpture for the Pori Art Museum in Finland contained a video archive showing Finnish films from the Pori region. The raised open structure created an integrative situation in which the visitors could be observed observing. While traditional cinema architecture hides the viewers from one another through their alignment towards the screen, Communal Cinema allowed the opposite: the circular plan arrangement and encompassing screen prompted viewers to observe each other and interact while watching a film. The lack of enclosure encouraged the distant participation of other gallery visitors. Kai Schiemenz is a German artist living an working in Berlin and New York. Photography: Erkki Valli-Jaakola